Pre- and Post-workout Nutrition for High-Intensity Interval Training

 

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has become hugely popular thanks to real results in shorter periods of time and extensive benefits. With busy schedules the norm, it’s no wonder so many clients and potential clients are now seeking out these kinds of workouts.

HIIT, which involves repeated sessions of relatively brief, intermittent exercise, usually performed at very high intensity, can be easily modified for various client needs and fitness levels. When combined with an expert nutrition program, personalized HIIT programs can elicit serious results and health benefits, including: 

Improve blood pressure and cardiovascular health
Improved insulin sensitivity
Improved body composition

Whether you’re adding HIIT to your own personal fitness program or ramping up client results and health benefits with this style of training, it’s important to understand the nutritional needs to support it from start to finish. While nutritional needs do vary by individual and training program, these nutrition plans and meal ideas for pre- and post-workout nutrition can help.
General Nutrition to Support a H.I.I.T. Program 

To get the most out of any fitness program, you should follow a healthy meal plan in general. Effective and well-rounded nutrition programs are based on a variety of healthful ingredients such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. The best nutrition plans provide adequate calories and macronutrients such as carbohydrates to fuel the body and provide energy stores for workouts. It’s important that these are expertly created programs that allow you to stay within your scope of practice and prevent clients adopting a restrictive diet that may inhibit their success. Adequate water is also a must to ensure complete hydration during workouts.
 

Pre-workout Nutrition for HIIT

Due to the intensity of these workouts, it’s vital to follow a healthy nutrition plan with adequate nutrition in the days and hours leading up to a workout. Plan on a moderate- to high-carbohydrate meal that also includes protein approximately three to four hours before the HIIT workout, and then another high-carbohydrate snack within an hour after the workout. Good options for a pre-workout meal include: 

Whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and banana
Non-fat Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit
Dried fruit and almonds
Post-workout Nutrition for HIIT

The biggest nutritional concern post-workout is replacing energy stores (glycogen) and repairing muscles that have been broken down during the intense workout. Again, a combination of carbohydrates and protein has been shown to be most effective. Research shows that a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein within 30 minutes of completing a HIIT workout is best for replacing energy stores in preparation for the next high-intensity workout. 

 

Suggestions for post-workout nutrition are similar to pre-workout meals and include:
Whole-grain cereal with fruit and soy milk
Whole-wheat crackers with fruit and cheese
Hummus and pita bread

The best pre- and post-workout nutrition boosts energy and results—and motivation. 

Reference Gibala, M.J. (2007). High-intensity interval training: New insights. Gatorade Sports Science Institute Sports Science Exchange, 20, 2.

The Benefits Of Early Morning Running Exercise

If the thought of exercising in the crack of dawn only makes you wish to hit that snooze button much more, reconsider. Exercise sets the interest rate of your day. Starting off your entire day with a bang might give you a healthier mindset which means you make healthier food choices during the day. Learn about the perks of exercising at the start of the morning. It might prevent you from making excuses and keep you motivated to get out of bed, put on your sneakers and build up a sweat.

 It's a Consistent Workout

A large barrier to getting enough being active is often the fact that its hard to fit it right into a daily schedule. Its extra hard for those who have kids, work unpredictable hours, and have a somewhat spontaneous social life. Should you commit to working out in the morning, however, you’re way not as likely to have the excuse of things just appearing. Plus, you wont be exhausted from the rough day at the office. Actually, people who work out in the morning have been shown stick to their exercise plans much better than people who plan to exercise in the evening.

Habit Forming

Everyone has a morning routine. You might push the snooze button around the alarm clock three times before finally getting out of bed, or jump out of bed and head toward the coffee pot. Many people may shower before breakfast or their habit would be to shower after they eat. Your routines end up part of your nature. Exercise may become part of your morning routine and something of the most healthy habits you are able to develop. Those who exercise midday or in the evening may find that occasionally they're dissuaded from exercising due to unforeseen events. Working late or high-traffic after work might make you late for the session at the gym, so you choose to skip exercising. Exercising each morning eliminates the excuses because of not exercising. Set your alarm for Half an hour earlier than you normally wake and walk for 25 minutes before breakfast every day. If walking isn't feasible, do some stretching and body-weight exercises inside your bedroom before you have breakfast. Make morning exercise a part of your daily routine, and soon morning exercise turns into a healthy habit.

Enjoy Better Sleep

For those who have trouble falling asleep at night, early morning running exercise may help. According to a study conducted by researchers at Appalachian State University, exercising at the start of the morning improves the quality of the sleep cycle and enables you to sleep longer at night. Avoid squeezing inside a workout close to bedtime as this raises your body temperature and heartbeat, which might trigger insomnia. Understanding that you have an exercise session scheduled for at the start of the morning might keep you motivated to go to bed early which means you feel energized for your morning workout.

Better Fat burning capacity

A study by Belgian researchers published within the journal of Physiology found that male test subjects who ate an eating plan high in fat and carbohydrates, and involved in strenuous exercise for 60 to 1 hour 30 minutes before eating breakfast, gained hardly any weight despite eating a calorie-rich diet. Morning exercise might not be for everyone, but the benefits may outweigh the hassle of getting up earlier for exercise. The body continues to burn fat and calories after arms exercise. Exercising in the morning when your body -- inside a fasting state -- burns fat more proficiently may improve your weight-loss efforts. While you lose fat and gain muscle mass, the body becomes even more efficient at losing fat.

More Energy

Exercise releases feel-good compounds like endorphins that enhance your mood and energy levels, an impact that can last well in to the afternoon if you get your workout at the beginning of. Plus, exercising in the morning will help you sleep better than if you exercise later in the evening, since you’re not receiving that extra energy boost as you’re attempting to settle in for the night.

Better Mood

Individuals who exercise in the mornings enjoy increased levels of energy throughout the day and improved mood. Exercise energizes the brain to produce endorphins. Endorphins are usually called feel-good hormones. They produce a feeling of well-being and sometimes cause the exerciser to feel a gentle euphoria, such as the a runner's high. Individuals who engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise within the mornings can benefit from natural endorphins.

Damian@FitnHealthy

Bodyweight Calisthenics: Give Your "Cardio" A Kick In The Pants

If you are one of the people who believe steady-state aerobic exercise is the only way to improve cardiorespiratory endurance and burn fat, you're in for a treat. Bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent way to get a full body workout that includes the heart and lungs. I'll show you how to use bodyweight exercise in a second, but first let's talk a little about cardiorespiratory endurance.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is the level of ability your body has to gather, process, deliver and sustain oxygen to produce energy for use in physical activity. Basically, the respiratory system gathers and starts to process the oxygen. The cardiovascular system continues to process and distributes the oxygen. So, your cardiorespiratory endurance is the level of efficiency your heart and lungs have to sustain and deliver oxygen for energy.

So, when most people want to improve their endurance they do cardiorespiratory conditioning exercises (cardio) to improve endurance by "conditioning" the heart and lungs. Unfortunately, the form of cardiorespiratory conditioning usually takes the form of aerobic exercise. And bodyweight calisthenics are completely ignored! But the fact is, any activity can improve cardiorespiratory endurance if they are done properly, and bodyweight exercises and calisthenics are an excellent choice.

There is something important I should mention. The type of cardio conditioning you do improves over-all endurance. But, the increased endurance is most closely related to the activity used. This means if you ride an exercise bike, your cardiorespiratory endurance will primarily be improved for bike riding. This is fine if you ride a bike in your normal, everyday life. But this has limited application for most people who are involved in a wide variety of activities both in and out of the gym.

If, on the other hand, you use bodyweight calisthenics for your cardio conditioning, you are using a wide variety of movements and muscles. Bodyweight exercises and calisthenics more closely represent the movements of highly random movements encountered in sport, work and life. So, you could make a case that cardiorespiratory conditioning using bodyweight calisthenics is better for endurance improvement that can be used in and out of the gym.

Plus, bodyweight calisthenics use all the muscles in your body. Compare this to the predominately lower body exercises of jogging or riding a bike. So, using bodyweight exercises allow you to build a strong, lean physique while improving cardiorespiratory endurance and burning fat!

Just think about it. Let's say you do a fast paced bodyweight workout consisting of a circuit of bodyweight exercises and calisthenics. You'll simultaneously build strong muscles and burn fat while improving heart and lung function. You wouldn't even have to do a long, slow aerobic workout to supplement your training.

I hope this article has opened you eyes to the wide variety of possibilities available to improve cardiorespiratory endurance. You don't always have to do long-slow aerobic exercise. And the truth is, using other forms of training to simultaneously improve heart and lung power can prepare you better for the challenges of sport, work and life. Bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent choice for both building a strong, lean, athletic physique and building a strong heart and lungs.

Damian@FitnHealthy 

Cardio Wothout Burning Muscle

 

Cardio training is beneficial for your health. However, it is hard for a person to determine the perfect combination of training, diet and recovery time. Most athletes are aware that too much cardio can come at the price of muscle loss.

If you want to keep your fat percentage rate under control, you have to strike a healthy balance between diet and exercises. Both cardio and strength training are integral parts of a well balanced fitness program. However, can we say how much cardio is enough?

How long should it be?

The longer the cardio session continues, the more fat the body burns. This myth is still widespread among people who want to lose weight. In reality, a long cardio session, lasting an hour or two, will not burn the fat you want to get rid of; on the contrary, it may put your body in a catabolic state. Such a state poses the risk of muscle breakdown, which in turn leads to a slower metabolism. To put it in layman's terms: burning fat will become mission impossible or at least it will be very hard to achieve.

How much is too much?

There is no formula to measure what is the optimal duration of a cardio session.
It is very specific and it is determined not only by individual characteristics but by the fitness goals of the athlete as well.

If you design your fitness program, so that you have a low-intensity cardio session, it may not be as effective as you wish. On the other hand, if you overdo it with a high-intensity cardio, you may lose muscle tissue.

More than 2 hours a day is too much unless you are preparing for a marathon or for the Olympics. Half an hour will do you much more good than an endless session on the treadmill. You should pay attention to what you eat and how intensive is your workout. Consume sufficient amounts of proteins and calories, that will give your body fuel to endure the intensity of the workout.

Interval training

Some Fitness gurus claim that interval training is the best option for athletes that want to retain their muscle mass intact. Interval training combines the best of low and high intensity training. It is simply a series of intense activity intervals followed by intervals of lighter activity. It is a great addition to your workout because you can shake up the routine a little bit. The benefits are considerable: you will improve your aerobic capacity, burn more calories and less muscle and most importantly keep the boredom at bay

Last but not least, don't forget to eat healthy food rich in proteins. The fastest way to gain muscle without burning the muscle tissue you already have is to choose a balanced program and to take some kind of body building supplements that will give you energy, help you burn more calories and gain mass faster.

Source Ellie Dan |Go

Things I Know About Double-Unders

Skills
double-under practice
WOD: “The Double Russian” (aerobic training)
5 rounds:
20 Russian swings, 16K
20 double-unders
20 Russian step-ups
20 double-unders
My time: 20:13
Cashout Fun
:40 handstand hold

When I ‘graduated’ to double-unders a few months ago, I made a commitment to myself that no matter how tired I was, how uncooperative the rope, how vigorously my ego worried about the clock, I would do every double-under in a workout. There would be no compromise, no “I’ll just do singles on this round, then I’ll go back to double-unders.” See: stubborn, relentless, determined, bull-headed.

I’m ridiculously pleased to announce that on the last round of the WOD, I did all 20 double-unders unbroken, smooth as (very sweaty) silk. But prior to that, my unbroken reps ranged from 2 to 13, depending on when I tripped on, or was viciously whipped by, the rope. This could have been a pretty fast workout: 16kg is a ‘light’ weight for me on swings, and I was a very committed step aerobics aficianado back in the day, so step-ups feel like a sort of homecoming. But double-unders can be a time suck. Unbroken, they swing by fast, but f*cked up double-unders? They’ll slow a girl down. It goes something like this:

• single, single, single –> big breath and…
• whip the rope into double-unders
• trip on the rope / get whipped by the rope
• [pant] X 3 while trying to achieve optimal blend of relaxation and aggression
• single, single, single –> big breath and…
• double-unders
• REPEAT

After completing about 250 double-unders this morning (50 during our skills and 200 during the WOD), I have some observations to share about this particular CrossFit rite-of-passage.

1. Get your hands on the right rope.

I thought the need for a speed rope was just a case of Hothouse Flower Syndrome ([sigh] “I’m delicate and need things just so to succeed.”) But I was wrong. Getting a speed rope – at the right length – changed double-unders from the wistful “I can get them once in a while.” to the cocky “I have double-unders.” We really like this .Speed Rope

 If you invest in your own speed rope, play around with the length;

2. Find that magical place where you’re both aggressive and relaxed.

The day I got my first double-unders was the day I got angry. I was pissed at the rope, at my feet, at my arms, at the rising welts on my shins, at the evil mastermind that decided we should even be attempting to do double-unders in the first place. The angrier I got, the more aggressively I flung that rope and suddenly, vroop!, it had circled under my feet twice.

On my next attempt, when I was happy about that, I tripped. But when I got angry again, I succeeded.

Now I’ve learned how to whip the rope without going to a grouchy place. It’s a far more aggressive movement than I imagined. With singles you can sort of la-la-la the rope around. It’s very chill, like Muhammad Ali slamming his poetry and shuffling his feet. With double-unders, there has to be a lot of force behind the movement, BUT… you also want to keep your shoulders and jumping mechanism relaxed. It’s tricky, but once you get it, you get it.

3. Remember it’s all in the wrist.

Somewhat related to #2, the movement of the rope needs to initiate from your wrist. With your shoulders relaxed in a neutral position and your core tight, you form a solid base from which your wrists can flick the rope. Again, it’s that hinky relationship between relaxed and fired up.

4. Keep your hands slightly in front of your shoulders.

Nick, champion-level double-under-er, shouted out this tip this morning (Thanks, Nick!), and it considerably improved my unbroken-to-broken reps ratio. When you’ve got the “from the wrists” thing working, try to bring your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. With elbows tucked into your sides and palms angled so they’re almost facing each other (instead of directly forward), you have a ballast against which to spin the rope.

5. Get bouncy.

Another tip from Nick: bounce! Most of the time, I have a little hitch in the rhythm of my double-unders. But if I think “bounce!” while I’m doing them, I reach a lightness and steadiness in my jumps that matches the rhythm of the rope… perfect sync.

6. Do not let frustration get the better of you.

This may be the hardest aspect of all. DUs are nasty little f*ckers and sometimes, that rope just refuses to cooperate. THAT is the true challenge of the DU. It’s not whether you can move the rope fast enough, but whether you you can put aside your frustration to learn to move the rope fast enough.

7. Channel the fighting spirit of Muhammad Ali.

I’m of the opinion that there is never a bad time to rely on Ali’s athletic model. He was charming, classy, worked hard, enjoyed his accomplishments, and did a whole lot of jump rope.

Source Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan

Metabolism for the Fit Individual

The dictionary defines metabolism as the sum of all biochemical processes involved in life, or the sustaining of life.  In application concerning our health, metabolism is related to the intake and use of food.  In reference to the case in point it is our ability

The dictionary defines metabolism as the sum of all biochemical processes involved in life, or the sustaining of life.  In application concerning our health, metabolism is related to the intake and use of food.  In reference to the case in point it is our ability to utilize our food to the fullest extent.

Right now, the greatest results in raising our metabolism come from exercise and building our muscle mass, while reducing our body fat.  Adding more muscle to the body, in turn causes us to burn more calories, and this helps to elevate our metabolic rate.

Our metabolism functions also depend on how well we have taken care of our nutritional needs. Some people have really high rates of metabolism.  In other words, when they consume food, their bodies burn it up almost as fast as then consume it.  Then there are those of use who use our food intake so slowly, as to not even notice that we’re burning calories.  These people who burn quickly are often slim and trim, the people who burn more slowly are the people with a tendency toward obesity.

The body’s metabolism is a unique process for each individual person.  No two people metabolize food at the same rate therefore no two people have the metabolism.  We all use our calories at different rates, with different results.  Our metabolism, like our fingerprints is unique to each of us.  But the need to understand and accommodate this metabolism is an issue that we all face.

All of this metabolic process is related to our calorie intake, our vitamin and nutrition needs, our thyroid and endocrine production, and how well all of these processes come together.  For years, people have sought ways to raise the metabolic rate.  If you can raise someone’s metabolic rate, you are then better able to control the burn of calories, especially for overweight or obese people.  This would make the goal of better or improved health a much easier reality for those people.  Efforts to date have produced very little results.  There are foods that we can consume that naturally raise our metabolic rate, but not to a great extent.  What we need is a way to directly alter the rate.  We need to be able to raise our metabolism to a point where we can actually see a benefit.

 This is where the effort to stay physically fit and active provides tremendous payoff. Over the course of your life, if you stay active, exercise, and maintain optimal health for your muscles, you will see a tremendous difference in the rate that your body metabolizes food.  As people age, their metabolism quite naturally slows down.  The greatest way to prevent this from happening is through exercise and staying fit.

I believe through careful analysis, exercise, and attention to each person’s unique needs, we could bring about a more natural balance of the metabolic burn vs. the calorie intake. To a level where optimal health and weight control are in equilibrium.  

Damian @ufitnhealthy

Don't Live At The Gym!

It's not a good idea to stay too long in the gym says a consortium of renowned workout experts. 

In fact, you're less likely to return to the gym if you stay for more than one hour.

Additionally, you can get burned out if you're not pumped on carbs throughout the day, something that most bodybuilders avoid in the first place. Routine is more important than maxing out to the point of passing out.

Deleterious side effects can occur with a maximum workout schedule. However, it is important to differentiate between excess workout and just getting everything going at full speed. In women, spending too much time at the gym or exercising to the point of exhaustion increases the chances of infertility three times over. It is no wonder that successful female athletes have considerable trouble starting a family. Spending more than 45 minutes to an hour at the gym in strenuous exercise can signal the body to produce excess cortisone which can tell the body to store fat. 

 

 Furthermore, doing cardio exercise for more than 30 minutes has no use because the maximum effect of a cardio workout is achieved in the first 30 minute timespan. Interestingly, people see the need to use a more intuitive approach and exercise more than 30 minutes, but the scientific approach would have them stop at 30 minutes. The general issue of attraction can also come up because most women that men like don't even have a gym membership. Trying to get rid of every single pound can make a woman look artificial and unwomanly.

Women tend to like men that are toned but not overly built. It is your choice how you want to appear to others, and you can sculpt your body however you choose, but it is wiser to go for more a natural look and that means spending a moderate amount of time in the gym.

Also, if you're doing a well-planned workout schedule, then you shouldn't need to spend an excess of time in the gym. No one should work out for more than 1 hour, and 45 minutes is preferable. Try to get a concise schedule going ahead of time so that you don't waste time trying to figure out what to do when you're in the gym.

Finally, the Body for Life program, the bestselling book of proven results for flabby folks suggests strenuous bursts of 20 to 30 minutes and intense weight training for fast-track results. If your goal is to change your physique fast, then it just doesn't make sense to spend an excess amount of time in the gym. You are either going to slow and need to speed it up or you exercising too much for your body to handle.

You should never exercise past the wall of pain and should stop as soon as your body's natural supply of endorphins are released. Exercising past the endorphin release can deplete your body of electrolytes, glycogen, and protein to rebuild your body in the long term.

Source Luka Bozic/ Workout Plans

The 80/20 Rule Of Double Under Jump Rope Training

If you do not know, Double Under Training is a game of very small adjustments until your technique becomes as finely tuned as a Steinway and Sons Piano. Your ability to do more double unders while reducing your fatigue factor is all about efficiency.

 

 

The 80/20 rule also known as the Pareto Principle states "that, for many events, roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes". As this principle holds true in business, economics, and software development; I, too, believe it is true for double under training.

After coaching and observing CrossFit athletes for over two years I can truly say that if you improve or fix 20 percent of your double under technique, you will improve your overall jump rope efficiency by 80 percent or greater.

You must keep in mind that the adjustments are usually so small that most athletes fail to realize which adjustments they have made. For this reason, many athletes fall into a revolving cycle of reverting back to bad habits. Using all of your senses to accomplish your training goals is the key to lasting success.

Every individual has a different road map to their ultimate double under (PR) personal record. Below are three suggestions on how you can accomplish your goals.

1. You must identify your 20 percent that needs to be adjusted. Find a good cable jump rope with efficient handles. A good rope handles about 5 -10 percent by itself. Find a good partner or coach who has an eye for proper jump rope technique and get a few suggestions from them on what changes you may need to make.

2. Learn, Feel, Remember, and then Repeat. Once you get a good rhythm of 15 to 20 double unders in a row, don't forget it. You want to be able to feel your way back into proper technique if you have not done double unders in awhile.

3. Continue to practice your newly discovered adjustments until they become second nature. You want to be able to do the movement and not have to think at all.

As your efficiency continues to improve, you will undoubtedly start making adjustments on the fly while conducting the movement. The ability to clip your toes and still continue without stopping is an ideal scenario. Efficiency in recovery after a mistake is just as important as a smooth and mistake-free execution.

 

Source Izaac Wilkins/ Ezine

What Is HIIT Cardio Training?

The most typical HIIT exercise that people normally do is all-out sprinting for twenty seconds or so followed by up to a moment of much slower jogging or even strolling through the recovery phase.

What are the advantages of HIIT?

HIIT is a good tool for extra fat reduction.

You burn up more calories during the session alone than you would throughout slow cardio, and investigation shows that your metabolic process is boosted for up to 24 hrs soon after your HIIT session. That suggests you are burning even extra calories post-exercise.

What are some of the negatives of HIIT?

HIIT is incredibly powerful and can necessitate a excellent offer of time to recover from the workouts. It is not unheard of to be ready to do no far more than two or three HIIT sessions per week. Your physique wants time to recover from the intensity of the training and you will need to allow your system to recover absolutely previous to starting a new HIIT session.

1 of the most successful methods to get in form speedily and burn off off entire body body fat is to use HIIT Instruction. Large Intensity Interval Instruction (HIIT) is to physique unwanted fat what kryptonite is generally to Superman: Deadly. You can burn up fat extra quickly and get in superior form when you accomplish HIIT instead than just steady state cardio. Plus you can do it faster. That's what a excellent physical exercise need to do.

When you complete HIIT, you change intervals involving small intensity to durations of significant intensity for distinctive period intervals. For instance, you'd jog at a sluggish speed for ninety seconds then sprint all out thirty seconds. You would then jog for 90 seconds once more with a sluggish speed then yet another thirty 2nd all out burst. You would manage that anywhere from twenty minutes to 30 minutes. You will be fully put in when you are finished.

 

The key thing is to make certain that your very own intensity levels differ from reduced to large. Really don't go from a good intensity degree of two to an the stage of intensity of 5 and also think that is likely to full the work. You have to have to move from a 2 with a nine or ten. That is what results in this complete point effective. This will function awesome important things if you do the idea appropriately.

HIIT Workouts That You Can Complete Now.

90 seconds of walking and thirty seconds of sprinting. Execute this three to one ratio if you are new to HIIT or when you simply need to have a quick aerobic work out. You should carry out 8 cycles with this for a overall of 16 min's. Do a rapidly warm-up previous to and relax after.

60 seconds of strolling along with thirty seconds sprinting. Here the ratio is a 2 to one so it is a very little a lot more intensive. ten cycles ought to be fifteen minutes. sixteen cycles would be about twenty minutes. If you have a superior groundwork of cardio by now you can perhaps get started right here and do just fine.

60 seconds of jogging and sixty seconds of sprinting. The adhering to the ratio will be one to one. 

 Source Herbert Chase

 

Take A Ride On A Spinning Bike, And Stay Healthy

The Exercise bike was introduced to the world in the 1980s. Initially they were created to provide training workouts during the winter months for cyclists. The normal exercise bike is housed in a heavy constructed frame. This frame has been designed to provide a solid base yet with flexibility so that it can be moved on the gymnasium floor easily. Also, bikes can be aligned side by side or placed at random depending on the class.

There is a big wheel at the front and a flywheel which is adjustable. This gives a pressure or tension element as needed depending on your fitness level. All adjustments can be made through turning a knob at the side. There is a connection between the large wheel and pedals, the latter containing straps to hold the feet of the cyclists in place safely. The bar of the Spinning Bike [http://www.spinningbike.co/spinning-bike-reviews/] is normally shaped like the letter W so as to enable the cyclist to reposition their arms.

  

 Spin cycling offers a tremendous amount of benefits which are a boon to the fitness-conscious. One of the major ones is the fact that one can ride day or night without being concerned about bad weather. Added to this is a further benefit of a low impact exercise, easing stresses on the body.

Spinning bike workouts, unlike a lot of other forms of keep fit exercise is not stressful to the joints and muscles. This is not the case with, for example, running or jogging. This exercise produces a very beneficial effect on your cardiovascular system. One can say that these benefits alone place this workout equipment at the very top of any other form of indoor workout. It is alleged that the spinning bike can help one to melt off hundreds of calories in an hour of exercise! Not only that but you will receive a full body exercise to boot.

You won't find as a rule your spinning bike offering much in the way of comfortable features. They are usually very basic. The basics of the sport are easy to master and one can progress very quickly -- indeed if you are gifted and hard-working you could even reach professional standard if you wished. A question that is often asked is how does one keep one's mind focused and unclouded by tedium? The answer usually given is to take your MP3 player along to the sessions. You will then have an opportunity to listen to music, an audio book, or even learn that language you promised yourself -- Italian, Spanish, French etc. Why not exercise your brain -- after all it is part of your body!

If you had a good time in your childhood riding your bike, there is absolutely no reason why you couldn't get the same buzz and buoyant health from the sport of spin cycling. It need not be overly expensive but if you wanted to treat yourself to items such as a gel pad for your saddle, or a sports top or a special water bottle they are all available at clubs or online.

There are numerous spinning bike clubs and associations around today. So you have no excuse to not get started right away. A quick surf on the Internet will be helpful. Your constant motivation will come from the boost in fitness and fun you will receive from this great sport.

Does Water Help You Lose Weight - Find Out How

Does the water help you lose weight?

Many of us have heard the popular theory that says you should drink water to lose weight, the belief that drinking water helps suppress your appetite. But can an extra one or two glasses of H2O really do that or even help you shed pounds? It sounds too good to be true.

First, let's have an idea of the role that water plays in our body. Water makes up close to 70% of our body, and our organs contain an even higher percentage of water. The liver, for example, is nearly 95% composed of water.

 

The experts have answered your question, Does water help you lose weight. Well, water doesn't directly affects weight loss, however, water consumption directly correlates with weight loss. As in: Water does not have any magical property that burns fat, but it definitely can help you with your weight-loss efforts.

Think of a well-tuned mechanism like a clock or a car engine. It cannot run effectively without lubrication, the same analogy can be applied to our human body, water is the ideal lubrication to keep it working properly. So, does drinking water help you lose weight? First, you should understand how water can be used to achieve good health and effective weight loss.

First off, staying hydrated could help you avoid overeating, A lot of people confuse thirst for hunger so they tend to eat rather than drink water. So having a glass of water before a midday snack is not a bad idea if you want to make sure your bites are caused by hunger not hydration.

Also, if your body doesn't get enough water, it sees this as a threat to its survival and holds on to what it has. It is called Water Retention that causes water weight gain and bloating, so by getting a steady external supply of water that water retention in your waist, face and ankles are released because there is no longer a reason for your body to store it.

Of course, drinking water also means you're not drinking anything else, such as sugary, caloric beverages or even potentially diet coke. Caffeine, commonly found in tea, coffee and coke act as diuretics which drives water out of the body and causes even more dehydration. The same goes for alcohol.

Does drinking water help you lose weight, still asking?

Do you remember earlier that your liver is nearly 95% water? The liver breaks down toxins and removes them from your system, it also stores fat-soluble vitamins. And most importantly to answer your question "Does drinking water help you lose weight", it has a huge role in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. The liver is responsible for breaking down fatty acids and transporting them to the blood to be metabolized.

So does drinking water help you lose weight? Water has numerous health benefits and is a great accessory for weight loss, Drinking enough water and staying properly hydrated is part of healthy weight-loss diet.

Source:My Hawwa / Ezine

Body Composition: Which Numbers Matter?

Over the years, my perspective on numbers and their value has changed with respect to health and the body. Before I knew much about exercise science or even heard of the words “body composition,” the only thing I knew about was weight. And that word was “scary.” Like many females, I avoided the scale at all costs. I went by the feel of my clothes, and I didn’t want to know any numbers (not that this is bad, trusting your clothes, but the intense fear of a number isn’t great). It was like a warning alarm would sound off if I stepped on to the scale. 

I don’t know where this fear came from or why I let it dictate my perception of my health and myself. As time went on, and I pursued education in health and exercise science, I began to learn how these numbers related to body composition. I also realized that weight is pretty much as useful as my mom having an iPhone. (She has a Galaxy and giving her my phone is like handing her a foreign object she has no idea what to do with it.) My point is this: Weight is just gravitational pull on the body, mass times gravity. What does this number really tell you about your body? As it turns out, not much. You have to know the make up of the weight for it to be helpful. 

Unfortunately, accurately measuring body composition is difficult and expensive. Although there are numerous, extensive definitions of body composition, it is basically the amount of fat mass vs. lean mass. Body composition is typically reported in a percentage of fat mass. Therefore, just stepping on a scale to attain a weight will not shed any insight into how much weight is lean body mass and how much weight is fat mass. Methods that provide fairly accurate body-composition analysis include the Dual X-ray Energy Absorptiometry (DEXA), Bod Pod and hydrostatic weighing. Typically, these machines are located at exercise science laboratories and hospitals and are fairly expensive. 

Fortunately, there are economically friendly tools for measuring body composition, such as skin folds and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Skin-fold calipers measure body fat by pinching visceral fat at specific anatomic locations, and those numbers are used in a formula to estimate total body-fat percentage. Unfortunately, it can be challenge to measure at the exact anatomical site, which can make the measurement less accurate. A downside to this is accuracy on selecting the position of the site. To help improve the validity of the measurements, three measurements are taken at each site and averaged to obtain a more accurate number. 

Bioelectrical impedance sends an electrical current through the body to determine body composition. Because lean mass contains more water, it takes the electrical current less time to travel through the body and assess composition. BIA is typically assessed through hand-held devices or scales. The accuracy of this measurement can be compromised by the individual’s hydration level, with dehydration causing an overestimation of body composition, and overhydration having the reverse effect. 

Unfortunately, not many of these measurements are conducted in clinical settings, so weight and body mass index (BMI) tend to be the default measurements. BMI is a measure of mass divided by height squared. This number can provide insight into a person’s general well-being in regards to weight; however, it still does not offer a true representation of a person’s body composition. 

Waist-to-hip ratio is another common measurement and is an efficient and effective tool for assessing health. Waist-to-hip ratio measures the circumference of the waist at the smallest point and compares it to the circumference of the hips at the widest point. The higher ratio indicates greater adipose tissue exists around the abdominal region, which can signal a greater risk for metabolic syndrome and associated illnesses. 

If you have access to finding out your true body composition by hydrostatic weighing, a DEXA or BodPod—go for it. If not, some of the other methods discussed earlier will work, but they may offer a less accurate picture of your true body composition. However, if you experience improvements in these numbers over time, you can feel confident that you are making progress in improving your health.  

Finally, guard against becoming obsessed with your weight. This number does not define you, nor does it say a whole lot about your health or your body composition.

Source : By Kelley Vargo / Ace

Heart Disease

Why We Still Need Cardio Training ..

 

Cardio training has really been taking a beating recently. In the strength-training world, it’s become trendy and fashionable to make a name for yourself by suggesting that no one ever do any form of cardio training ever again or all of your muscle mass will disappear. Why are we listening to people who can squat 600 pounds with a big gut and can barely move well?

Like many topics in fitness, the accepted view on what you “should” do swings from one ridiculous extreme to the other.

There is no question that the previously dominant view that people have to do long cardio sessions to get fit is incorrect. More isn’t better. But zero isn’t better, either.

Here’s what you need to know:

-Endurance—as a component of fitness—is essential for optimum health and function.

-Cardio increases blood volume, allowing more efficient buffering of acids produced during higher-intensity training.

-You don’t need nearly as much cardio as we used to think, but you need more than zero.

Endurance is an essential human capacity. It’s what allowed us to successfully evolve to the top of the food chain. Developing the ability to outlast our prey when hunting helped us obtain precious resources for survival. But the kind of endurance we had back then was developed at a higher intensity than the long, slow cardio training that was popular not too long ago.

Of more current interest, aerobic exercise changes the brain in ways that improve cognitive function and may have beneficial effects throughout the lifespan. Aerobically fit people have more fibrous and compact white matter, which is comprised of the bundles of axons that carry nerve signals from one brain region to another. More compact white matter is associated with faster and more efficient nerve activity. This provides a host of benefits to many mental and physical tasks. And aerobic exercise can help keep our minds sharp as we age. The goal of most strength training (or even cardio training) isn’t directly tied to a better brain, but I think it’s safe to assume that all of us want a sharp mind throughout our lives.  

With strength training, the goal is larger, stronger muscles and this means we have to perform shorter, more intense training. A limiting factor is the accumulation of acidic waste products in the muscle when performing an effort.

When the accumulation increases at a rate that is faster than your body can clear out, muscles begin to burn and further contractions become increasingly difficult. Your blood carries sodium bicarbonate to buffer the acidic state. Boosting the acid-buffering ability of the blood would push your fatigue point further out. A little aerobic training can make your anaerobic training better by increasing blood volume, which allows the blood to carry more sodium bicarbonate.

To get this benefit, you may need only one “traditional” cardio workout a week, but there is a better way.

If you’re reading this thinking I’m a big fan of cardio workouts, you’re wrong. I’d much rather be chasing a ball or a person playing a sport or outside in nature hiking or taking a short trail run to get my cardio training done. But life doesn’t always present opportunities to do those activities. I prefer higher-intensity strength training and faster explosive training. But it’s foolish to only train that way all the time. By performing interval training according to the ACE IFT model, you can get a lot of benefit in less time than “old school” cardio. I use this interval training two to three times per week for no more than 20 to 25 minutes per session, and have used it successfully with many clients since first learning it a few years ago.

There’s something inherently unnatural about climbing onto a machine and going absolutely nowhere while disconnecting yourself from nature. But sometimes circumstances like scheduling or weather make other options impossible. When doing this kind of training, it’s best to use the minimum effective dose so you devote more time to other forms of training or just other things in general.

And it’s also important to make clear that in no way am I advocating any boring exercise. Whatever you do should be engaging to both body and mind. That may mean using motivating music or some elements of play, competitiveness or reactivity. The moment I’m not engaged and get bored, I either change what I’m doing or I stop.

There’s not much need to do the long, boring, steady-state training of yesterday. Using modern, intelligent approaches to interval training gleans the most out of a minimum investment of time while still providing the benefits of aerobic training.

Source : Johnathan Ross / Ace 

Does Early Morning Fasted Cardio Really Burn More Fat?

 

This subject will probably keep being debated on for many generations to come, "does early morning fasted cardio really burn more fat?"

It all started many years ago when certain scientists and fitness enthusiasts started claiming that this way, was the fastest way to experience body fat reduction.

In fact, these people were literally telling people to develop the habit of just waking up, drinking a chug of water and heading outside to run for 45min to 1hr.

But, many studies started revealing that this form of cardio, was only effective at one thing...

Putting your body in a catabolic state so your muscles starve and disappear.

Can you see the contradictions here?

Now, I usually don't like going to sciency on people but sometimes a little science can go a long way in you deciding whats really best for you and your situation.

Here are the positives of early morning fasted cardio:

There are studies that show that this type of cardio increases the amount of free fatty acids that are used as fuel. But whats interesting is that this is not due to doing your cardio in a fasted state when you wake up.

This happens during your sleep and when you enter your deep sleep phases. And seeing that these fatty acids are used as your primary energy when you sleep, about 200 to 300 calories, there might be a chance that when you wake up they might be more readily available to be mobilized for fuel as you do your morning cardio on an empty stomach.

But on the negative side of things, this brings up another point...

If this type of morning cardio increases how fat is used, its probably also going to waste away more muscle.

This is because of the increase of a compound called cortisol, and it appears in large amounts when you are in a fasted state. And since you wake up in a fasted type state, there is a great chance that early morning fasted card can lead to more muscle mass being wasted away than any other time of the day.

So there really is no good or bad answer, it really depends on your goals, and what long term you want to ultimately accomplish.

If your goal is to maximize muscle and you already have a hard time putting on mass, chances are you probably want to avoid this type of cardio.

But on the other hand, if your main goal is fat loss and you aren't concerned with how much muscle you have or want to gain then fasted cardio might be a good option for you.

I recommend that you try it and see what your results are, and after that you can make your decision on whether or not to move forward with it.

Source Daniel Dash / Ezine